Hi, we recently got 2 new chicks from a friend of ours. They came to us at about 2 weeks and are now 5 weeks. These are our first chickens and we're learning a lot very quickly; we don't know what breed or sex they are though. After reading through lots of threads on this site and others, and checking their wing shapes, I'm pretty sure the brown one (Gertrude) is female. The grey one (Harriet) though... not so sure. Their mom was a 'speckled hen' (speckled sussex maybe?) according to their owner, and the dad was a 'rhode island red'. Harriet: Gertrude:
Have you asked your friend what breed they are or what the possibilities are or if they are purebred? Harriet looks like a roo to me.
They're not purebreds AFAIK, but the owner of their parents said the mom was a "speckled hen" and their dd was a "rhode island red". Harriet may have to change her name to Harry then
No real way to tell the mix, you'll have to ask your friend. Your suspected male is indeed a cockerel. Your other one... I'm feeling a bit roo-ish on that one as well. That's a lot of comb for a chick that's not even fully feathered yet.
From the description and the look of the chicks, you may have a black sex link pair. The "speckled" hen had to be barred, as that male chick is barred, and if daddy was a Red that's the only possibility. That would make the other bird a female. Maybe post pics again in about 4 weeks so we can see how they're turning out? so, the "grey" chick is actually barred, that is each feather has bars of black and white. The female has no official color.
